


Avatar: The Legend of Vin

by Nesh



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: More Relationships to be added, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-19 01:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29867073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nesh/pseuds/Nesh
Summary: After using the Well of Ascension Vin wakes up in a strange new world where people can control the elements. She quickly finds herself caught up in the adventures of the most powerful person on this world: Avatar Korra. Only one thing is certain, neither Vin or this world will ever be the same again. Starts at the end of Mistborn book 2 and in Legend of Korra episode 1.
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1: A Strange New World

Vin stumbled into her bed, too exhausted to do much else but sleep. Still, her mid was a torrent of thoughts about the events that had transpired at the Well of Ascension. True, she'd been able to save Elend with the aid of the aid of the Mist Spirit and the strange bead of metal that had made him into a Mistborn, but she had released something far more terrible than even the Lord Ruler. What that _thing_ was, she didn't know, but she knew it was bad.

She'd pulled on the mistcloak that Kelsier had given her, it was a small comfort in times like this, but she'd take any comfort she could get. She also had full metal vials, a full coin pouch and her glass daggers on her. Odd for one going to sleep normally, but not for Vin, who liked to be ready to fight at a moment's notice. She had people she wanted to protect, and now thanks to her actions the world was more dangerous than ever.

As she drifted off to sleep a strange feeling overcame her, a feeling as if she was floating. She had been feeling odd since she released the power at the Well, but she'd also hit her head on the stone floor when the cavern shook, so she'd waved it of as nothing a little pewter couldn't cure. With that she drifted off to sleep.

When Vin woke, she immediately knew something was wrong. She woke up on hard ground instead of the soft bed in Keep Venture that she knew she'd fallen asleep on. While her childhood as thief in the underground of the Final Empire meant that she was well acquainted with waking up in strange alleyways, several things were wrong here other than the fact that she hadn't waking up where she went to sleep. First of all, while the ground was as hard as cobblestones, it was far too smooth. Much more disconcerting however was the fact that, though she was clearly outdoors, and it was clearly night, the ever-present mists that came with the night were missing.

Vin downed a vial of Allomantic metals burned tin to enhance her senses, even with the lack of mist, it was still dark enough to need it, and also copper to hide her Allomancy from any Seekers that might be in range. The first thing that hit her was the noise. Wherever this place was, it was _loud._ It was almost loud enough to make her extinguish her tin on the spot, but she would still need it to navigate in the dark. The smell was almost as bad, the smell of smoke was familiar, the constantly spewing ash from the ashmounts had accustomed Vin to that, but this smell was far more noxious, and made her want to gag, that combined with what could only be the smells of exotic foods was almost overpowering.

 _I need to get a better vantage point_. Vin burned iron and steel, translucent blue lines, springing from her chest pointing at nearby sources of metal, and once again she was overwhelmed. There was metal _everywhere_ , even underground, some kind of plumbing system? Thankfully, being the most skilled with these metals she was still able to distinguish individual lines, the varying thicknesses indicating the size of the source. Burning, pewter, tin's Allomantic counterpart, which strengthened the body's physical attributes to superhuman levels, Vin picked a large blue line pointing to a metal-sheeted roof across the street and Pulled with iron.

Iron and steel Allomancy was simple in concept, but difficult to master. With iron you could Pull on nearby sources of metal while with Steel you could Push on them. However you could only Push or Pull directly away or toward your center of gravity respectively, and if you Pulled on something lighter than you, it would be puled toward you, but if it was heavier than you, you would be Pulled toward it. The same pricipals applied with SteelPushing, of course there were ways around this, like anchoring yourself with another piece of metal, but generally iron and steel were all about weight.

Vin sailed up toward the roof landing gracefully, it wasn't the tallest building, only about three floors, but it would work for her purposes. The first thing she did was look up to see the stars unimpeded, something impossible in the mist clouded nights she was used to; for even a Mistborn or a Tineye to see the stars it had to be an unusually clear night, looking up at them now with no obstructions and her tin burning, they were nearly blinding in their brilliance. The thing that really caught her eye was the large rocky orb in the sky, she'd never seen anything like it. Even with the mists out she should have been able to see something that big and bright. It appeared that she was very far from home indeed, not that she wasn't pretty sure of that already.

She needed information about this place, but she wasn't sure how she was going to get that without sounding very suspicious to the locals. Vin brought herself back down to street level with a quick Pull on one of the large pieces of metal underground and extinguished all her metals. Vin was pretty sure that her clips and boxings wouldn't be any good here, so she'd have to conserve her metals until she found a way to make money and buy more.

So Vin began to walk the streets of this strange city alone, pulling the hood up on her mistcloak to look as nondescript as possible. Whatever this place was it had many wonders, there weer lights lights on the streets and in homes that were steadier than any lantern. She saw carriages that moved without any horses. Still it was undeniably a city like Luthadel. She got all the confirmation she needed for that when she saw a few men roughing up a woman in a nearby alley.

Against her better judgment Vin burned her metals again and moved to intervene. Had this happened before she met Kelsier, before she'd killed the Lord Ruler she would have just ignored it. This kid of things happened on the streets after all. The Vin of today was a very different person than the street urchin who hid in the shadows. For better or worse, she become a hero, a religious figure, a protector of the people. She knew far too well how these things went, and she could just stand by and do nothing.

"Hey, leave the lady alone, unless you want to get hurt," Vin called.

The three men turned toward her. One of them, presumably the leader stepped forward. "Look, lady, I don't know who you think you are, but you're in Triple Threat Triad territory. She's got to pay the toll and so do you," he said as the trio of muggers stepped out on to the street.

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" Vin mocked. It was probably just the name of the thieving crew that had claimed this part of the city, likely nothing to worry about; then again these guys were wearing brightly colored clothing that was usually reserved for noblemen, not skaa. Still, Vin burned bronze, copper's Allomantic counterpart, which let you sense when another Allomancer was burning metals. Normally if they had a Smoker with them, an Allomancer who could burn copper Vin wouldn't have been able to sense any Allomantic pulses, even if they were burning metals, but she had the ability to pierce copperclouds, an ability thought impossible by general Allomantic theory. On the off chance these guys were Allomancers she wanted to know what she was up against. The woman they had been attacking had already fled but she wasn't going to just let these men go to hurt someone else.

Vin flared her bronze, drawing extra power to piece any potential copperclouds. She still couldn't sense any Allomantic pulses. Just normal street toughs then.

"I'll show you what it should mean to you." The leader said. Then with a wave of his arm a stream of water came gushing out of of a pouch on his belt, hitting Vin hard in the chest. She staggered but stayed on her feet thanks to the enhanced balance that pewter provided. She was so shocked by this that Vin barely picked p the fact that the man was making more strange body movements, as if he was fighting someone who wasn't even there. Out of the corner of her eye she watched the water on the ground turn to ice and come around for a second hit. This time Vin was able to avoid it narrowly.

 _He can control water? That's not Allomancy or even Feruchemy._ If Vin needed any more proof added to the mountain of evidence that she was far from home, this was it. Those motions that he was making seemed to be the key to the man's strange power over water, so Vin rushed forward, with speed nearing that of a galloping horse thanks to pewter, her glass daggers flashing in the light. She lashed out and stabbed one of the man's arms, immobilizing it, he seemed surprised by her speed.

He screamed and clutched the offended arm in pain. Vin whirled on the other two, they could have strange powers of their own and she couldn't let her guard down now.

"Jet!" A burlier compatriot cried. "You'll pay for that!" Vin moved to take this man down, but he stomped his foot, the stone beneath Vin's bare feet suddenly shackled her legs. The burly man laughed and it was clear that he was going to go for some sort of finishing blow.

 _Water and now stone. Just what_ are _these men?_ Vin knew she didn't have time to think about that though, she needed to get free _now_. She found another metal roof and Pulled on it while also Pushing on the metal under the street. Then she burned duralumin. Vin cursed herself for having to resort to this, duralumin would burn up all the reserves of any metal she was burning in a great flash of power. In a situation like this it where she didn't know when she would be able to get more metals it seemed like a waste, but it was better than the alternative.

With the added boost of duralumin Vin shot off upwards toward the roof, shattering her stone restraints. Boosted pewter was the only thing that allowed her body to withstand the forces being exerted on it. Still, she felt pain in her legs as they were badly scraped from the escape, had she not been burning pewter her bones would have likely shattered. Vin downed another metal vial to replenish the stores that had been lost.

"How did she jump like that, is she some sort of Airbender?" The burly man mused. Vin noted the unfamiliar term as another of a myriad of things she would have to investigate later.

"It doesn't matter, I'll still scorch her!" The third of the toughs, a particularly lanky man said he thrust his arm in Vin's direction and a jet of flame burst from his hand. It stunned Vin thanks to her tin enhanced senses, but she was able to keep enough of her wits about her to dodge. The man continued to try and hit her with fire, but well placed use of IronPulls and SteelPushes as well as the enhanced running speed and reflexes of pewter kept her one step ahead.

 _Water, stone, and now fire, this is just getting ridiculous. Enough is enough!_ Vin pulled a handful of coins out from her pouch and Pushed them at the men. The metal discs flew at deadly speeds, but the stone controlling man made a few quick motions and a wall rose up from the ground to block them. The coins chipped the stone, but Vin let them drop, jumping down off the roof and Pulling on a window latch to angle herself to kick the stone controlling man in the chest. She impacted with a sickening crunch, as she likely broke several of his ribs. She turned her attention to the other two who looked absolutely terrified of her. Vin donned a wolfish smirk.

Then a high pitch wailing sound hit her ears stunning her thanks to her tin enhanced senses. The next thing Vin knew she and the men she'd been fighting had been wrapped in metal cords and loaded into those horseless carriages. Vin didn't struggle, there wasn't much of anything she could do. The new comers all wore uniforms, so she figured they must be the city garrison. Maybe she could get some answers from them.

"Two vigilantes in one night, and in the same part of town no less. The chief isn't going to like this," She heard one of them say.

* * *

Tenzin sighed as he made his way toward the Republic City Police Headquarters. All he wanted was a quiet night with his family. His responsibilities as the Air Nomad representative on the United Republic Council were stressful enough with this anti-Bender movement picking up steam. So the last thing he wanted was a call from Lin of all people telling him that the Avatar was in custody.

His old relationship with Lin and their subsequent break up had put quite the strain on what friendship they still had. In truth, that was painful to Tenzin, given how close they used to be. So to say he wasn't looking forward to this meeting was an understatement. Not that any of this was Lin's fault, she was just doing her job; it was Korra who had started this whole mess.

The other part of Lin's call though, that intrigued and even excited him. Eye witness accounts said that this other young woman Lin had arrested moved like an Airbender. No matter what had transpired between the two of them Tenzin knew that Lin took her job as police chief very seriously. She would have done her due diligence; if she said this young woman did things only an Airbender could then it was true, of that much he had no doubts.

 _Another Airbender, how is that even possible?_ His father Avatar Aang had been the only Air Nomad to survive the Air Nomad genocide at the start of the Hundred Year War, so the only known Airbending genes came from his line. The Airbending power as far as the world knew was only carried on through Tenzin and his children. The discovery of a new Airbender could change everything; where there was one there could be more. Perhaps the Air Nation could be truly revived.

Rebuilding the Air Nation and training any new Airbenders that appeared would add a lot more to his plate on top of the responsibilities he already had, including eventually teaching Avatar Korra Airbending. With that said, rebuilding the Air Nation would be the most important thing he did for the world, save possibly training Korra.

Once he arrived at Police Headquarters, Tenzin was able to convince Lin to drop the charges on Korra, he had every intention to send the Avatar back to the South Pole where she belonged. That probably had a lot to do with Lin's decision, the impulsive Avatar being out of her jurisdiction meant one less headache for her. Korra was left in the care of two of Lin's best officers while she and Tenzin went to deal with the other reason he was here.

"Lin, I promise I didn't know Korra was here, I told her to stay at the South Pole. As for this other matter, I had no idea there were Airbenders in the world other than my children and I," Tenzin said once Korra was out of earshot. His relationship with Lin was already badly fractured, he didn't want it getting worse over a misunderstanding like this.

Lin sighed. "I know that, Tenzin, despite what happened between us I don't think you're out to get me. You're about the most by the book person I know. I figured if you knew the Avatar was here you'd be keeping her on Air Temple Island, not wandering the streets picking fights with the Triple Threat Triad." Lin seemed very somber and she gave Tenzin an apologetic look. He hadn't seen her like this since before they broke up. "As for the other one, I hate to break the bad news to you, but I don't think she's an Airbender. I'm not sure _what_ she is."

"What do you mean? You said the witnesses claimed that she moved like an Airbender. Such things would be rather unmistakable. Even the Metalbenders on the police force with all their specialized equipment can't match the agility of an Airbender." Tenzin immediately regretted that last part when Lin glared at him for what she saw as an insult to the police force.

"I have no reason to believe that the witnesses are lying about the woman's agility, but some things just don't add up here. She was carrying some rather odd things on her. Things that no Airbender I know of would have any reason to carry on their person. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was an Earthbender, one who specialized in Metalbending, but even then that leaves a lot of unanswered questions," Lin said.

"What kind of questions? What's so odd about what she was carrying on her?" Tenzin asked. For Lin to be this confused something strange indeed had to be going on, and that set Tenzin on edge.

"Let me show you since you're here anyway, besides, it'd probably good to let the Council know about this since it's so bizarre. You're a member so who better to tell? Follow me, we put it all in storage in the evidence room, standard procedure," Lin said as she lead him into a room down the hall. She led him to a table with several objects on it, it seemed she'd already set the objects out knowing that he was coming. Tenzin spotted a pair of glass daggers, some glass vials with liquid and what looked like metal in them, and a drawstring pouch.

"The glass daggers are the only things I can make sense of. If you were going to carry a weapon, you'd want something that a Bender can't manipulate. Considering we haven't figured out Glassbending, a pair of glass daggers would work fine for that, better than a lot of things, but Airbenders are supposed to be pacifists, that's what made me rule her out as one of those," Lin said.

"You said that this woman might be a Metalbender, couldn't the vials be her way of keeping metal on her person so she always has a source to Bend?" Tenzin asked.

Lin shook her head. "We thought about that, but that doesn't make a good explanation for these vials. The amount of metal in them isn't sufficient for any real bending, plus, there are several different types in there, and there would be no reason for that if they were just a source for Metalbending. Not only that, but most of the metals are very pure, so much so that they would be difficult to bend, except for what we can only assume is steel," Lin said. "Add to that the fact that they're suspended in liquid, which doesn't make any sense, and that hypothesis becomes very unlikely."

Tenzin nodded. Having grown up around prodigious Benders of every discipline he was well aware of the mechanics involved in such things. "Yes, I agree, this is all very curious."

"Besides, if she wanted a Metalbending source, she was already carrying a pretty good one on her." Lin said as she opened up the drawstring pouch. He peered into it seeing the glint of metal in the light.

"Metal discs?" He asked staring at the bronze and gold objects in front of him.

"Look closer, Tenzin, they're not just discs. They're coins. This is the thing that baffles me most, because I've never seen coins like these." Lin said.

Tenzin did as was instructed and took a closer look at the discs, fishing a few of both kinds out of the bag and placing them on the table to get better lighting. Sure enough each example of either the gold and copper discs was uniform and had etchings on them, surely some kind of currency, but it didn't come close to looking like anything used anywhere in the world. The copper ones featured the face of a man on the front, along with some strange symbols surrounding it, with one large symbol surrounded by four smaller ones on the back. The gold coins featured more strange symbols on the front and a building the likes of which Tenzin had never seen before on its back, it looked like some sort of palace and it too was surrounded by symbols.

"The symbols must be some kind of writing, but I've never seen anything like it before. You're right, these are some form of currency, that's the only reason they would be so uniform, but I don't need to tell you that there's no place in the world that would accept these coins. So why would she carry them?"

"Now you see why we're so confused. It's almost as if she's from a land outside the Four Nations, but we both know that's impossible." Lin said.

"What do we know about this young woman?" Tezin asked.

"Not much, just her name. She calls herself Vin Venture," Lin said. The name in itself was odd. The first name wouldn't draw any attention of course, it being just one letter removed from Lin's. The surname on the other hand was decidedly alien.

"Take me to her, perhaps we can get some answers out of her together," Tenzin said.

"What, you want to try the old good cop bad cop routine on her?" Lin asked. Tenzin smiled sheepishly causing the police chief to roll her eyes. "Have it your way, Tenzin."

* * *

Vin turned as the door to the room she was being kept in opened. The first one inside was the surly older woman in armor that Vin had quickly learned was in charge here. Her name was Lin Beifong if she was remembering right. She was followed by a man about the same age in red and yellow robes who was shaved baled and had blue arrowhead tattoos.

"Hello, Vin, my name is Tenzin. I'm the representative of the Air Nomads on the United Republic Council. Chief Beifong and I have some questions we would like you to answer," The man said.

"And don't even think about lying to us, it won't end well for you," Beifong said glaring at her. Vin had no doubt that the woman was trying to intimidate her, and for most people it might have worked. Vin however had faced down an army of koloss, nothing this woman could do to her could even begin to compare to that.

"Alright, I'll answer your questions, it's not like I have much choice, but I have some questions too," Vin said.

"We'll answer them to the best of our ability," Tenzin said kindly.

"First of all, we want to know where you're from," Beifong said, unrolling a map on the table. "Point it out to us."

Vin looked at the map, it showed a landscape that was most certainly _not_ the former Final Empire. To be fair though she'd already figured out that she was somewhere far from the Final Empire shortly after she arrived here. At first she thought she might be at the other pole she'd seen when she held the Well's power, but that didn't make any sense either given the things she'd seen since she got here.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," She said.

"Try us," Beifong hissed.

Vin was silent for a moment, considering what exactly she should say. She didn't know enough about this place to come up with a convincing cover, she couldn't even read the symbols on the map. The truth would make her sound insane, but she had her doubts that these two would take silence for answer. It looked like she didn't have much choice, _but_ to tell them the truth.

Vin burned brass, as far as she'd been able to tell so far these people had no knowledge of Allomamcy, so there was little risk of being discovered. Brass along with zinc was one of the two emotional metals of Allomancy; brass in particular allowed one to dampen or Soothe emotions of your choosing in your target or targets, it was often used to make people less suspicious, or just generally more amenable to whatever you wanted them to do. Emotional Allomancy wasn't mind control, more like nudging someone's mood in a certain direction that would make them more likely to take an action you desired. It could be resisted, but generally that required you to know you were being manipulated.

While Vin's touch wasn't as subtle as someone who had truly mastered the art, like say Breeze or Allrianne Cett, She was quite proficient with the emotional metals. That was no surprise of course, brass was the first Allomantic power she'd ever used, before she'd even known what she was doing. If it hadn't been for her Allomancy she likely would have never survived in the skaa underground. So she directed her brass at Beifong and Tenzin, with as much power as she dared without making it obvious before speaking.

"I know how this is going to sound, but I don't think I'm from this world," She said.

Tenzin stoked his long beard. "Believe it or not, we suspected as much. The coins you were carrying are unlike anything used by the nations of this world. So how exactly did you come to be here?"

"Honestly, I don't know, I went to sleep and woke up in this strange city," Vin left out the fact that she thought it might have had something to do with the Well of Ascension, being from another world sounded crazy enough as it was, a pool of metal that gave you temporary godhood would probably be too much to swallow.

"Oh, you don't actually believe this crap do you, Tenzin?" Beifong snapped.

"You said yourself that it was almost like she was from a land outside the Four Nations when we were looking at her personal effects, Lin," Tenzin countered.

"Can I ask you something, what's that big rocky sphere in the sky, we don't have anything like that where I'm from," Vin asked.

"You mean the Moon?" Tenzin asked incredulously.

Beifong just stared at her for a moment. "By the Spirits, either she's serious or a pathological liar," She said before turning back to Vin and placing one of her previously confiscated Allomantic vials on the table. "Alright then, care to explain this?"

"That's a vial of metals, I ingest them so I can use my Allomancy." Again, there was little point in lying, these people already knew she had some kind of power.

"Allomancy, that's the power you used to fight those Benders?" Tenzin asked.

"Yes, each metal gives me different powers. The ability to Push or Pull on metals, enhanced senses or physical abilities." Vin was careful to only list the powers they knew she had thanks to the people who witnessed the fight; she still wanted to keep some surprises just in case.

"Definitely not Bending then," Beifong mused. Vin assumed that Bending was what those men did to control fire, water, and stone.

"Well, Lin, I don't see any reason to keep her here, she was a stranger ignorant of our laws trying to help a defenseless woman," Tenzin said.

"Alright, Tenzin, I'll let her go if you take responsibility for her from here on out," Lin said.

"I don't have a problem with that as long as Vin doesn't She'll need someone to help her acclimate." Tenzin said.

Vin shrugged. It's not like I have anywhere else to go."

Tenzin smiled. "Good, we'll retrieve your things and be on our way. I look forward to learning more about you and where you come from."


	2. Adjustments

When Vin woke up the next morning once again in a place that wasn't Keep Venture panic began to set in. Before now at least part of her had thought that the events of the night before had been some sort of very strange, very vivid dream. The fact that she'd woken up in the same room on Air Temple Island that she fell asleep in ruled out that possibility. Vin got up even though she didn't really want to, the full gravity of her bizarre situation now sinking in.

No part of her could deny that she was  _far_ from home now. Far from home when her friends were in more danger than ever before. In danger because of whatever she had released from the Well of Ascension. She  _had_ to find a way back. She had to protect the crew, the world, she had to protect Elend. Of course she had no idea  _how_ she was going to get back to where she belonged; she had no idea how she even got here in the first place.

Vin made her way over to the window, figuring she might as well get some idea what her new surroundings looked like in the daylight. Come to think of it, the sunlight streaming through the window looked strange, though she couldn't put her finger on why. The answer came when she pulled back the curtains and looked upon the world out side. Instead of an ash blackened sky, and an oppressive red sun, the sky was blue and the sun yellow. She looked at the ground to find green plants and what looked to be flowers like the drawing Kelsier's wife Mare had had.

She was looking at a world straight out of one of Sazed's legends. It was just as bizarre as she always thought it would be, and yet it was also the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The sight of it caused Vin to collapse to her knees and break out in tears.

It was then she heard a knock at the door, and when she didn't respond Tenzin walked in. “Vin, it's time for breakfast.” He paused upon seeing her distraught state. “Whatever is the matter, Vin? Is there anything I can do to help?” He asked walking over to where she was kneeling.

“It's not fair!” She croaked out between sobs. She could see Tenzin's confusion even through her tears, so she continued. “This world is like a paradise only spoken of in legends where I'm from. I don't deserve to be here, not after what I did.”

“What exactly is it that you did, Vin?” Tenzin asked.

“I was tricked into releasing something. A dark force that was imprisoned a thousand years ago. It wants to destroy my home, I could just feel it.” Vin did her best to explain the events leading up to her fateful choice at the Well of Ascension without bringing up the power of the Well itself or any other elements her host might find hard to swallow.

Tenzin stroked his beard. “I can understand why you would feel guilty about this, Vin, but you made the best decision you could based on the information you had at the time. You acted with nothing but the best of intentions and you had no way to know that the records had been manipulated. As for this force you describe it almost sounds like an angry spirit, my father Avatar Aang helped calm the forest spirit Hei Bai once, but Hei Bai was far less malevolent than you make this thing you freed out to be.”

“Not that any of that matters unless I can find a way to get home,” Vin said.

“Indeed, unfortunately it will prove difficult to get you home until we figure out how you arrived here. That is, if such a thing is even possible,” Tenzin said. “You said that this is a paradise compared to where you're from, would you mind telling me about your home?”

“Ash falls from the sky constantly, the sky is black and the sun is red, mists come out every night,” Vin began. She then delved into some of the history of the Final Empire and the actions of Kelsier's crew as well as the aftermath.

“That sounds horrible,” Tenzin mused. Vin noticed a change in his eyes. Before now she'd thought that the man had been skeptical of her claims, and truthfully she couldn't blame him. _She_ would have thought she was crazy in his position. However something about the way she recounted the details seemed to have won him over, Maybe it was the fact that it was all so coherent, but what did she know?

“If I didn't have people I cared about back there, and felt responsible for the mess they were in I wouldn't _want_ to go back. As it stands though, I have to get back and do whatever I can to help Elend and the others.”

Tenzin nodded. “I understand.”

After breakfast Tenzin set out to begin training Korra in his art, Airbending. From what Vin had been able to gather Korra was something called the Avatar, the only person in the world who could bend all four elements: Earth, air, fire, and water, any other Bender could only use one of the powers. The concept was easy for her to grasp in essence, the Avatar was like a Mistborn, and other Benders were like Mistings.

Tenzin, his children, Vin, and Korra were in a small field on the island in front of some sort of large wooden contraption that was supposedly an ancient Airbending teaching tool. Vin was burning bronze in an effort to see if Bending gave off any sort of pulses like Allomancy did. As Tenzin used his Airbending to get the wooden gates spinning she thought she sensed a pulse, but Bending was so fast that it was hard to tell.

Tenzn used his Airbending to guide a leaf through the gates, and this prolonged use of Airbending allowed Vin to pick up on the fact that Bending _did_ give off pulses like Allomancy, they were different, but detectable when one was looking for them. No doubt the other Bending arts would give off pulses as well, but she'd need an extended demonstration to get a feel for them. “The key is to be like the leaf. Flow with the movement of the gates. Jinora will demonstrate.” Tenzin said. His older daughter stepped forward and began weaving through the gates without touching them. “Airbending is all about spiral movements. When you meet resistance, you must be able to switch direction at a moment's notice.”

Vin paused to consider. It seemed Airbending was all about taking the path of least resistance; that was something she could get behind. After all the philosophy had kept her alive during her days as a street urchin in the Final Empire. She was no Bender, but learning the movements might be useful; she'd have to ask Tenzin about that at some point.

Unfortunately it seemed that Korra didn't understand the point of the lesson as she kept charging in like an enraged koloss and getting a beating for her troubles. After several attempts Korra finally gave up and her training was done for the day. Vin approached Korra slowly, calling back to her days on Camon's crew to appear non-threatening. She didn't fully embrace that old role though, she still wanted to look confident. “Korra, I don't believe we've been properly introduced. My name is Vin.”

Korra looked her over. The Avatar was clearly sizing her up. “Yeah, Tenzin told me about you. He said you claim to come from another world. I'm not sure I buy that.”

The tanned girl couldn't have been more than a year younger than Vin, but other than that they couldn't be more opposite. Korra was much more muscular, not to mention busty. The Avatar's tone contained a self-assuredness that bordered on flat out cockiness. This girl was used to everything coming easy to her. It made Vin's stomach clinch in disgust, but she forced it down so she could get the information she needed.

“If I wanted to lie about my origins, I would come up with a better story. What would be the point of creating a story that no one would believe at without solid proof.”

“I suppose you're right,” Korra admitted, “ So was there something you needed from me, Vin?”

“I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me. Like what an Avatar _is_ exactly. I understand that you're the only one that can use all four elements, but why is that? What makes the Avatar have that power?”

“No one really knows where the Avatar came from, they've just existed as long as anyone can remember, as far back as history goes. When the old Avatar dies, the spirit is reincarnated into a new person. It's my mission to make sure the world stays balanced,” Korra explained.

Vin had to stifle a laugh. “And you think me coming from another world is crazy. What does 'keeping the world in balance even mean?”

“History proves me right. We've never had someone come from another world, unless you're a spirit in disguise,” Korra said.

“I'm not a spirit, but I am trying to adjust to this world. I was wondering if you could show me the different kinds of Bending you know,” Vin said.

“I can do that, it'll be a good way to relax after failing with Airbending training. I've got these down,” Korra said. She started with Waterbending. Vin burned bronze as she watched Korra flowing movements of the style. She very quickly picked up on the pulses that Waterbending gave off and took time to familiarize herself with them. Korra switched to Earthbending, which had very different movement. Vin familiarized herself with those pulses the same with Firebending.

Given how flashy Bending was compared to most Allomantic powers the whole thing was likely pointless, but old habits died hard especially for her. “Thank you, Korra, that demonstration will do wonders for me in terms of getting used to the powers of this world,” Vin said.

“You fought the Triads didn't you? Wouldn't that have given you a good idea of what Bending could do?” Korra asked.

“It all happened so fast I didn't really get a good look at what was happening,” Vin said.

“I see, well it was nice to meet you, Vin,” Korra said, “but after all that I need a break.

The next day Vin took a boat into Republic City proper. Tenzin had given her some money and taught her the basic number symbols so she could buy new clothes to wear; she absolutely refused to wear Airbender robes, they stood out too much, and she only had the outfit she'd arrived in. She'd also talked to him about where she might get a steady supply of Allomantic metals, but he promised he would take care of it.

Having been directed as to where the clothing stores were it didn't take her long to find clothes that suited her style, though they still looked strange to her eyes. Vin didn't feel like going back to Air Temple Island right away, she hadn't seen any of Republic City in the daylight, so she wandered until she came to an open area filled with plants and benches in the center of the city. She sat under a tree and did her best to enjoy the view, but that only reminded her of how she was here in what seemed almost a paradise while the lives of everyone she cared about were in danger back home.

“We're tired of being oppressed by Benders, lording their power over us, join Amon and together we will tear down the Bending establishment!” A loud voice cut into Vin's musings. She looked to see a man with pointed sideburns shouting into some sort of device that made his voice louder. It was times like this that Vin was glad she wasn't burning tin.

_Maybe not such a paradise after all._ Still, she needed to learn more about this world and while this man's account would obviously be biased she couldn't exactly trust that Tenzin would give her all the facts either. She'd just barely met him, yes he'd taken her in, but that didn't mean she would trust his worldview without question. So Vin walked up to the man's table. “Excuse me, but how exactly are Benders oppressing you?” She asked.

The man glared at her. “Are you a Bender trying to pull one over on us?”

Vin burned brass to soothe the man's suspicions. “No, I'm just new to this city and unfamiliar with the situation here.” She said, it wasn't a lie, she had powers yes, but she wasn't a Bender.

The brass seemed to work as the man relaxed. “The Benders run the government, there isn't a single non-Bender on the United Republic Council. Of course they're going to look out for their own. The police force is made up entirely of Benders, even the Chief of Police is a Metalbender. The criminal element in this city is dominated by the Bending Triads. Anywhere Benders can get power they will take it while us non-Benders live in fear.”

Vin considered this for a moment, she had come across the Triads and the Police and only seen Benders among them. She knew Tenzin was on the city council. Vin wasn't foolish enough to believe that it was that black and white, but this movement might actually have some legitimate points...

“That does sound pretty bad, what are you planning to do about it?” Vin asked.

“This should enlighten you as to what our goals are,” The man said handing her a piece of paper, of course the bizarre writing on it made it unintelligible to her.

“I'm sorry, I can't read, I grew up on the street,” Vin said. Well, she could read the Steel Alphabet, but not whatever this was. No need to tell this guy anything that delicate though.

“Parents killed by Benders no doubt,” The man hissed. Vin didn't contradict him, letting him fill in the blanks in her story in a way that would garner her more sympathy. She did her best to look pathetic, she hadn't had to in years, but it seemed she still had the talent for it. “I know some people who would be more than happy to teach you how to read. I could ask them if you're interested,”

“I would like that very much, thank you. My name is Vin.” She decided against using her recently acquired last name because it would stand out. While she didn't particularly like reading, it would still be a useful skill to have in this world. Tenzin would be too busy training Korra to teach her, and this way she might be able to find out what this anti-Bender movement was really all about.

“It's nice to meet you, Vin, my name is Li, give me a day to get into contact with my friends and then meet me here about this time so I can take you to them.” Vin nodded, picked up her shopping bags and set out in the direction of Air Temple Island.

* * *

The next night Korra made her way to the edge of the island. She'd had enough of Tenzin keeping her trapped on the island and forbidding her from watching the Pro-Bending matches. She figured it was time to take things into her own hands. With her Waterbending and swimming abilities it would be easy for her to get over to the arena. Korra was about to put her plan into action when she heard a voice off to her side.

“Going somewhere?” Korra turned to find Vin there, though with her dark clothes the woman was difficult to see in the darkness.

“Vin, I suppose you're going to tell Tenzin that I'm trying to sneak out?” Korra asked.

Vin snorted. “I don't have a reason to do that. He may be giving me a place to stay, but that doesn't make me his informant. Don't take this the wrong way, Korra, but I don't really care what you do. It's not my business. That being said, I know Republic City a little better than you do, so maybe I should come with you, just to make sure you stay out of trouble.”

“I can take care of myself, Vin.” Korra's tone was defensive.

“You were arrested your first night here. Pardon me if I don't exactly believe you,” Vin said with a smirk.

Korra flushed in anger, she was thankful for the darkness of the night. It meant that it was unlikely Vin could see the emotional response. Then again she knew next to nothing about this Allomancy thing Vin supposedly had; there was no telling what kind of powers it afforded the woman. All Korra really knew was that it wasn't Bending. “You were arrested too!”

“I'm not from this world, what's your excuse?” Vin asked.

“I was trying to help someone. I'm the Avatar, it's my job,” Korra said.

“The... police was it, don't seem to agree with you on that point,” Vin said. It was times like this that Korra could actually believe that Vin was from another world. The way she said a word like police like it was completely foreign to her with no hint of deception was just so odd. “So where are you heading, Korra?”

“I'm going to the Pro-Bending arena to watch the matches, I don't care what Tenzin says,” Korra said.

“Well, like I said, I should probably come with you to make sure you stay out of trouble.”

“Can you swim, Vin, because Tezin's not going to let us take the boat out of here.” Korra felt a surge of triumph as she saw the older woman blanch and shift uncomfortably.

“No, that's one skill I don't have, it didn't come up much on the streets, and iron and still aren't good for getting across bodies of water,” Vin admitted.

Now it was Korra's turn to smirk. “Well darn, I guess you won't be coming with me then.”

“You know, if you don't take me with you, I could just tell Tenzin where you ran off to. I think we both know how he would react to you sneaking off the island to watch Pro-Bending matches.”

“Are you threatening me, Vin?” Korra asked, ice slipping into her tone.

“It does look that way, doesn't it? From what admittedly little I understand about Bending you would have no problem getting us both over there. So why are we fighting about this?”

The Avatar sighed. “I suppose you're right, but I don't like it. I don't take well to threats, but fighting you on this isn't going to help me get off this island.”

“Look, I don't have anything against you, Korra, but from what I can gather, you aren't the most popular person in Republic City. It would probably be a good idea for you to have someone go with you just in case,” Vin said.

“I already said I'd take you along. Still, I understand your reasons, and I appreciate having someone having my back, even if you are a bit blunt. Grab on to me and hold on tight,” Korra said. Vin did as she was told, gripping on to the Avatar tightly.

Korra dove toward the water, Bending a whirlpool that the pair rode to the next island. “That's a handy trick,” Vin said as the pair went in the side door. They found themselves in a gym, but they didn't get far before an older man with a towel around his neck caught them. “What are you doing here?” he asked gruffly.

“We were just looking for the bathroom,” Korra goaned at her own incompetence, that sounded weak even to her.

“The old I had to pee excuse. I'm tired of you kids sneaking into my gym without paying,” the old man growled.

“Easy, Toza, they're with me,” a new voice said. A young man with green eyes appeared, he seemed to be wearing a Pro-Bending outfit.

“Yeah, we're with him,” Korra said.

“Yeah, they're friends of mine,” he led the two young women out of the gym.

“Thanks, I'm Korra by the way,” Korra whispered.

“Bolin,” the boy whispered back.

“Vin,” Vin said with a grunt.

“What's with her?” Bolin asked.

“Don't mind her, she's always like that.”

Bolin led them to a balcony where they could watch the match. “What do you think, best seats in the house, huh?”

“Bolin, I told you not to bring your crazy fangirls up here,” a new voice said.

“Come on bro, I kind of promised them they could stay. Korra, Vin, this is my brother, Mako.”

“You're Mako, I heard you play on the radio. You're amazing!” Korra cried. Mako gave Vin a questioning look.

“Don't look at me, I'm just here to make sure she stays out of trouble, I don't care about Pro-Bending,” Vin said.

“I kind of told them they could stay,” Bolin said sheepishly.

“Whatever, we're up,” Mako said.

“Wish me luck, not that I'll need it,” Bolin said his voice full of swagger.

“Good luck,” Korra cheered, knock'em out!” Korra watched the ensuing Pro-Bending match with rapt attention. The Fire Ferrets' Waterbender, Hasook wasn't very good, but Bolin and especially Mako were very skilled. Vin seemed to be paying close attention too, presumably trying to learn more about Bending from the match. After a rough start Mako manged to turn the match around by himself, knocking all three of their opponents off the stage.

Bolin came charging up the steps, excited. “Yes, one more win an we're in the championsip round! So, Korra what did you think? Bolin's got some moves right?”

“What did I think? That was _amazing_! I've been immersed in Bending my whole life, and I've never seen anything like that. It's like there's a whole new style here.”

Mako had a brief argument with Hasook about the match before the Waterbender stormed off. Then Vin approached Mako. “Oh, you're still here?” Mako asked coolly. Vin seemed to ignore the comment.

“Jerk,” Korra muttered under her breath.

“You should look into getting a new Waterbender for your team,” Vin's tone was even blunter than usual.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Mako snapped.

“Isn't it obvious? I may not be anywhere close to an expert on Pro-Bending, but from what I can see it's rater unlikely that you would've gotten this far in this competition with a Waterbender with that level of skill,” Vin said, “and judging by your reaction that wasn't his normal performance level. It should be pretty clear what happened. Your friend was paid to take a dive.”

“You think Hasook was trying to throw the match?” Mako asked.

“Do you have a better explanation for that poor performance?” Vin asked.

Mako sighed. “No, but there's no much I can do about it. It's going to be almost impossible to find a replacement Waterbender on such short notice.

“I could fill in I am a top-notch Waterbender if I do say so myself,” Korra said eagerly.

“Do you even know the rules of Pro-Bending?” Mako asked.

“No, but I'm sure Bolin could help me learn while he gives me tips to help with my Earthbending,” Korra said.

“Wait, I'm confused,” Bolin said, “I thought you said you were a Waterbender?”

“It doesn't matter what she is, we don't have time to be hand-holding amateurs,” Mako said.

“Oh, I'm a Waterbender, and an Eathbender, and a Firebender,” Korra explained.

“You're the Avatar and I'm an idiot.” Mako sighed again.

“Both are true,” Korra said with a smirk.

“The Avatar?” Bolin went into full fanboy mode.

“I suppose we can try to get you up to speed. The Avatar should learn pretty fast,” Mako mused.

“The only problem will be clearing it with Tenzin. He seems to hate everything about Pro-Bending,” Korra mused. Bolin gave her a quick lesson on the Pro-Bending style of Earthbending, which was all about staying light on your feet until you had to commit as well as the rules of the sport. Once Korra had them down more or less she and Vin headed back to Air Temple Island.

The next morning it was back to Airbeding training and trying to weave through the gate. Unfortunately it wasn't going any better than it had before. Korra was ready to hit something. It was already very unlikely that Tenzin would let her join the Fire Ferrets given how much he hated Pro-Bending, but if she couldn't at least show some improvement in this exercise it would be downright impossible.

Vin pulled Korra aside after a failed attempt. “You're going about this the wrong way, Korra,” she said.

“What would you know about it, Vin? You're not even a Bender,” she snapped

“Enough to see that rushing in and trying to brute force it isn't the answer.” Vin was still very calm, unaffected by her barb. “It's like what Bolin showed you. Stay light on your feet. and wait for your moment. Adjust like you did when he was teaching you.”

Korra sighed and moved back over to what was, to her, an Airbender torture device. Taking Vin, and by extension Bolin's, advice to stay light on her feet until she had to commit, she was able to make it through the spinning gates on her third try.

“Very good, Korra, you've shown marked improvement.” Tenzin was beaming so broadly it looked like his face was going to split in half.

“Tenzin, there's something I need to ask you,” Korra said. Her usual confidence melting away in the face of the elder Airbender, “I kind of met some new friends in the city. Their part of a Pro-Bending team and they need a new Waterbender-”

Tenzin cut her off. “Absolutely not! I told you I don't want you anywhere near Pro-Bending. It's a disgrace to the art.”

“It was Pro-Bending that taught her how to get through those spinning gates,” Vin said, “I say you let her do it as it obviously helps her learn.” Korra was shocked to hear Vin sticking up for her.

Tenzin looked like he was about to explode, but he visibly composed himself. “Is this true?”

“Yeah, it's true, I picked those moves up from Pro-Bending,”” Korra said.

Tenzin sighed. “Then I suppose, if Pro-bending is a productive way for you to learn what I'm trying to teach you then I should let you participate.”

“Thank you, Tenzin! Thank you, Vin!” Korra squealed.

“Don't thank me,” Vin said, “Watching you get beat up was getting old.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be clear going forward since I introduced Mako in thi chapter: I'm not doing the love triangle, that's time bettr spent fleshing out Korrasami.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize if I got too exposition-y with Allomancy, but I figure Mistborn is a bit more obscure than the Avatarverse, so I'd rater over explain, than underexplain and have my readers confused. I know the revelation and acceptance of Vin's origins probably comes across as very convenient, but there was no way she was coming up with a cover story in these circumstances, and Tenzin and Lin had some pretty compelling evidence in front of them. Plus, it was this or Vin being in jail.


End file.
